10x15 - Scream

[bunniefuu]

Reid: Previously on "Criminal Minds"...

My sister and brother-in-law d*ed in 9/11.

They had a baby girl, Meg.

I took her in. Actually, Chris and I moved into their house.

She's 13, and the light of my life.

Make sure you're home on time, otherwise the search party's coming for you.

Meg: Make sure you text me when you land or I'll send one for you.

I love you.

Love you, too.

See you in the morning.

[Computer chimes]

OMG, he messaged us back.

He is so hot.

Could you imagine if he was your boyfriend?

He's asking for a picture.

You're not actually sending one, are you?

Well, he's a senior. What's the big deal?

[Camera shutter clicks]

[Ding]

[Woman singing opera]

[Thump]

[Music stops]

[Muffled sobs]

[Woman sobbing]

♪ I've got a great big bundle of love ♪
♪ and I have seen this... ♪

How the hell do you think it makes me feel, huh?

I said I'm sorry.

I bust my butt at work all day and all I ask for is a hot meal.

Honey, I'm sorry, please.

I know this is my fault.

You think I want to do this?

Look, I know you had a hard day at work.

No!

I had a rough day.

Rough day at work. Say it right.

I'm sorry.

You had a rough day.

So why do you have to make it worse?

I'll do better. I promise.

I'm tired of giving you second chances.

[Sobbing]

[Screams]

Woman on TV: ...Released a study today that shows that supplemental oxygen...

Damn.

You look like you could use this more than me.

Oh, my hero.

Hey, Meg, let's go!

You're gonna be late for school.

Meg: Coming.

Thank you. I saw that.

Good morning to you, too.

Hey, can I go to the mall with Markayla and a couple of other friends this weekend?

Do these couple of other friends have names?

Bobby and Tyler.

Ok, those are weird names for girls.

They're in my biology class.

Ok, well, do these friends know that Kate has a g*n?

You're right. Hey, stop that.

Technically, she's got two g*ns.

[Clears throat] It's true.

I'm kidding. Yes, of course you can go.

Thanks, Chris. I need to text Markayla and let her know.

Ok, what was that?

What? It's not a date.

She's going to the mall, it's a public place.

With two boys that we've never met.

I don't think it's such a big deal.

We had a plan for her dating.

This is not a date.

I have 3 g*ns, by the way.

Come on, sweetheart.

Over the last 3 weeks, the bodies of Myia Collins and Lauren White have been found in Diamond Bar, California, a suburb 25 miles east of Los Angeles.

Both victims were found in alley dumpster.

Each had her throat slashed and had been brutally beaten.

This guy literally dumped his victims like trash.

Classic misogynist sadist.

Definitely looks like the t*rture escalates with each att*ck.

These women weren't just cut, they were beaten to a pulp.

That feels personal.

It's possible the unsub knew both victims, or at the very least used them as surrogates for the true object of his anger.

He abducts, offends, and disposes of each victim before anyone notices they're gone.

He may be preying on loner types.

It looks like they both have ligature marks on their wrists and ankles.

Which means he has a secure secondary location where he holds them c*ptive.

So he could be testing how much t*rture his victims can take.

And then when he's done with his fun, if things don't go as planned, he silences them permanently by slitting their throats.

The preliminary M.E. report shows that neither of the victims were sexually assaulted.

Maybe he's impotent.

Or the abuse is what really turns him on.

Either way, he's enjoying their pain.

And he's gonna want to experience that again.

Wheels up in 30.

[Bang]

[Tape rewinds]

[Bang]

[Tape rewinds]

[Bang]

[Tape rewinds]

[Tape rewinds]

♪ Criminal Minds 10x15 ♪
Scream
Original Air Date on February 11, 2015

♪ ♪

Kate: William R. Alger once said, "Men often make up in wrath what they want in reason."

This creep definitely has a type.

Both women were roughly the same age, same look.

Cute brunettes are his thing.

Myia Collins was single. She grew up in the area and worked at the local elementary school as a substitute teacher.

Lauren White recently moved back to Diamond Bar after she and her husband split.

It says here Lauren recently started working part-time as a nurse.

So both women had jobs in which it wouldn't necessarily be noticed if they were gone for a few days.

What about friends and family?

Lauren has a sister, Heather.

Myia, not so much. All her family is in Ohio.

We know this guy's good at being invisible.

Both women were last seen leaving work and never made it back home.

He has to be abducting them in public.

Both were technically single.

They could have been looking to meet new people.

Maybe that was his in.

Raymond Fernandez used to place personal ads in the newspaper.

He would seduce and rob the women who answered them.

The unsub could be a lonely hearts k*ller.

Maybe he hunts his victims at places where singles hang out.

You know, bars, night clubs, chess tournaments.

If the women turned down his advances, it could have emasculated him.

You rejected me. I'm literally going to make you feel my pain.

But he's not breaking their hearts, he's breaking their bodies.

All right, when we land, JJ, you and Kate go to the M.E.

Morgan, reach out to the families.

The rest of us will set up at the precinct.

Agent Hotchner, thanks for coming out.

Detective Davenport. This is Agent Rossi, Dr. Reid.

Welcome. Right this way.

Thank you.

To be honest, this kind of thing doesn't happen around here.

This guy has the entire city on edge.

A serial k*ller will do that.

Your team can set up in here.

Thank you.

Have any witnesses come forward?

I have my guys out interviewing local merchants, but so far we're coming up empty.

Have you noticed any variations in traffic patterns near where the bodies were found?

That road's a commuter nightmare. Why?

The unsub had to know the traffic in order to escape detection.

Grand Avenue's 18 miles long and runs through 4 other cities.

He could have spread out the dump sites but chose not to.

Both victims were found within a mile of one another.

That's a huge risk the unsub didn't have to take.

The area must be important to him.

Or convenient.

What are you willing to bet the unsub either lives or works nearby?

The tox screens came back negative, however, C.O.D. on both wasn't the lacerations to their necks like I initially thought.

So what was it?

Blunt force trauma to the back of the head.

In fact, the lacerations were done postmortem.

The slicing of throats is a symbolic way of silencing his victims.

Maybe he feels he doesn't have a voice himself.

Looks like he might have hesitated.

Yeah. But the incision across Lauren's throat was much more precise.

His confidence in the way he kills could be building with each victim.

With Myia he literally b*at her with his bare hands.

You can tell from the bruising here.

She suffered multiple fractures in her arms and torso.

Lauren had the same type of bruising, but her injuries were much more brutal.

He introduced a blunt object.

Brutality could be important to his fantasy.

Maybe he's trying to perfect his method of t*rture.

Or he's devolving.

Maybe the t*rture isn't enough.

There could be something else he wants from his victims.

Your sister moved back here 3 months ago.

Was that to be closer to you?

We had a falling out about a year ago.

It had only been in the last couple of months we started patching things up.

If you don't mind me asking, what caused the rift in your relationship?

When our folks split, she took it the hardest.

She felt like our dad just left.

She turned to partying.

There were times I would go days without hearing from her.

Lauren recently filed for divorce.

Can you tell me about her husband?

I never even met him.

They hooked up at some bar.

She'd only known him like a week before I got a text saying they had gotten married in Vegas.

And when things didn't work out for the two of them, she came back here.

Did the divorce change her?

She was the same Lauren.

Still looking for a man to validate her.

Thanks, Garcia.

Well, Lauren's ex-husband Doug checked out.

He's been in Seattle touring with his band the past few weeks.

According to her sister, she was promiscuous.

Said she would fall head over heels for any man who showed her the slightest amount of attention.

That may rule out the lonely hearts theory.

That type of unsub typically thrives off of challenge.

Lauren wouldn't have given him that.

You know what? There might be another connection we haven't considered.

Myia was never promoted to full-time because supervisors described her as quiet and submissive.

Heather said Lauren struggled with needing a man to validate her worth.

It speaks to both their levels of confidence.

This unsub could be targeting women with self-image issues.

[Baby crying]

[Door opens]

Greta Thomas?

Yes, that's me.

Honey, I need you to stay here.

Mommy will be right back.

My name is Peter.

I'm going to be your caseworker.

Right this way.

Have a seat.

Can I get you something to drink?

No, thank you.

I just need to verify a few things before we get started.

There you go.

Thank you.

Is this the first time you've been here?

My son saw it happen this time.

I never wanted him to see me like this.

How old is he?

7. [Crying]

You two have the option of staying here, or if you have someplace else you'd rather stay the night...

Uh, I have a friend we could stay with.

Good.

Now, I need you to tell me exactly what your husband did to you.

Why target women with low self-esteem?

What does it get him?

Well, it makes him easier to control.

He prolongs the t*rture because the more he does, the more powerful he feels.

Which could mean he doesn't feel very important in his everyday life.

Kate: Maybe he has low self-worth. Like attracts like.

Hotch: And his only chance of dominance is to target other submissives.

If this is about power and control, maybe the stressor occurred when the unsub didn't have any?

Ok.

Thank you.

These women could be surrogates for the person he holds responsible for his pain.

Something could have happened to him when he was a child.

If he felt powerless in is childhood, then having a taste of power now would be like a drug.

Exactly.

And he'll be looking for his next fix.

I appreciate you letting us spend the night.

I couldn't bring myself to let Conner sleep at that place.

No, I'm fine. I just-- I just need to get out of here.

He could come back at any minute.

Text you when we're on our way.

Conner?

Did you pack your toothbrush?

Conner!

[Cartoon music on TV]

Conner?

Didn't you hear me calling you?

And how many times have I told you not to go to the cabinet and get candy?

I didn't, Mom. The man gave it to me.

What man?

That one.

[]Her name is Greta Thomas.

According to the neighbor, her son Conner knocked on their door saying a man took his mom.

She looks like the other two victims.

Any word on her husband?

Garcia's trying to locate him.

Apparently he travels a lot for work.

Did Conner see anything?

He was able to give a description, but not much to go on.

Well, we might get more if we gave him a cognitive, but we're gonna need to wait and get a guardian's permission first.

This is the first time that the unsub broke into someone's house and left a witness. Usually he just does it out in the open.

Maybe he's getting closer to his ideal surrogate.

If that's the case, what makes Greta different from the others?

She's a mother.

[Cell phone rings]

Tell me you found the husband.

Affirmative, sir, but you're never gonna believe where.

We believe we're looking for a white male in his mid- to late 30s who has a history of physical and psychological abuse.

This unsub is a projecting punisher, which means he's victimizing women he believes in one way or another haven't stood up for themselves.

With the first two victims, he caused injuries that are consistent with domestic abuse.

With his latest victim, Greta Thomas, not only is she a mother, but she's an actual victim of abuse.

At her husband was jailed last night after an altercation at the family home.

Which is why we believe the unsub's mother was the one that actually suffered physical abuse.

It's likely he blamed her for allowing the v*olence to enter and continue in the home.

Rather than viewing his mother as a victim, he holds resentment towards her because of the upheaval and fear he lived with.

[Crash]

Man: You're pathetic!

I want some respect around this house!

This house is a mess! You're a mess!

Rossi: This man doesn't hate his mother. He hates the idea of that she represented.

Hesitation marks on the earlier victims indicate that the unsub feels conflicted by his actions.

It's possible he does not want to hurt the women he abducts, but somehow he feels he has to.

Given his warped sense of justice, he may see himself as a protector of these women.

He may even want them to fight back.

He lost control at an early age, and he's desperate to regain it.

We should look at domestic abuse cases going back 25 to 30 years.

JJ: Take a look at locations battered women frequent-- group homes, women's shelters, legal hearings.

For now our primary goal is to bring Greta Thomas home alive and safe.

Thank you.

[Muffled cries]

You were supposed to help us.

I told you everything he did to me.

Oh, my God!

Where's Conner? What did you do to him?!

He's fine, now that he's no longer in that toxic environment.

What are you talking about?

You think this was the first time he saw that monster hit you?

The screaming, the fighting, the arguments.

You think he's stupid?

I can't imagine what that must do to a child.

But I made a mistake.

Which you let it happen over and over again.

Which is partly why I think you're perfect.

Rossi: Final M.E. report just came through.

Take a look at the stomach contents.

Saltwater, honey, ginger, and tea.

She also found multiple ulcerations of the vocal chords of both victims, most likely from all the screaming.

Spill it, kid. I can see you got a theory.

The saltwater could serve another purpose.

Honey, ginger tea, and saltwater are often used to treat sore throats.

Maybe something about their voices is what's driving him.

But a sadist wouldn't go to such lengths to heal his victims.

Especially when his final act of rage is slicing their throats.

This guy's destroying the very thing he's trying to preserve.

All the t*rture could simply be a means to an end.

If it's not about the v*olence, what's it about?

Their screams.

[Coughing] Please!

We can't stop.

Not until you give me what I want.

♪ I've got a great big bundle of love ♪
♪ and I have... ♪

How the hell do you think that makes me feel, huh?

I said I'm sorry.

I bust my butt at work all day, and all I ask is for a hot meal.

Honey, I'm sorry.

Please, I know this is all my fault.

You think I want to do this?

Look, I know you had a rough day.

So why do you have to make it worse?

I'll do better. I promise.

I'm tired of giving you second chances.

You're on speaker, Garcia.

You guys, I have searched every shelter up and down the West Coast.

I can't find Greta's name anywhere.

Could she have registered anonymously?

Records are kept confidential, but trust me, if she was listed in any of them, your nearsighted wonder girl would have found her.

Maybe that's the answer to where this guy finds his victims.

What if he works in the system?

Women go to him for help and end up as victims.

Hey, Garcia--

Already on it. Give me a minute.

If I find anything, I'll hit you right back.

All right, so the physical abuse he witnessed in the household imprinted on him. That's why he's conflicted.

He sees himself as protector and abuser.

And now he's taking on the role of the abuser re-enacting what happened to his mother.

Typically, unsubs with this type of nostalgia keep some kind of a trophy.

We haven't seen any evidence of that here.

We've profiled that what he wants most from them are their screams.

Ok, but how is a scream a trophy?

It's not. Unless he's recording them.

Greta: I know this is all my fault.

Unsub: You think I want to do this?

Look, I know you had a rough night.

Why did you have to make it worse?

I'll do better. I promise.

I'm tired of giving you second chances.

[]Hey, talk to us, hot stuff.

I feel like I don't deserve to talk to you, because I have terrible news. I'm hitting the hardest wall in domestic abuse cases of yesteryear.

To say there are a plethora is a severe injustice to the word plethora.

I can't narrow it down alone. I need help.

Based on the current victim pool, the mother would have been In her 20s back then.

Thank you, thank you.

Keep talking.

The unsub most likely grew up nearby, Garcia.

Check recurring abuse cases within the comfort zone.

Look for women who made frequent trips to the E.R.

But not for abuse. More like a freak accident, like falling down the stairs or extensive clumsiness.

Uh-huh. Now we're getting somewhere.

And the occupation might match as well, so look for teachers or nurses.

Hello, promising candidate.

Karen Holden, third-grade teacher at the time.

She went to the E.R. multiple times, courtesy of her icky, icky abusive husband Frank Holden.

Where's Frank and Karen now?

Dead. Like in a tragic story of Shakespearean proportions kind of way. They d*ed in a m*rder-su1c1de 25 years ago.

What happened?

Uh, Frank had a drinking problem.

He got punchy with Karen, like literally, an argument ensued and ended up with Karen having her throat slashed and Frank with a b*llet in his head.

I am guessing they had a child?

They did, indeed.

Little Peter Holden. He was 7 at the time.

He saw the whole thing.

Do we know where Peter is now?

Negatory. After his parents d*ed, he was put in the foster care system until he was 18, and that's where the paper trail ends.

Diamond Bar's a small town.

Probably changed his name to escape the notoriety of his parents' deaths.

I'll check court records and see if I can find a breadcrumb.

All right, thanks, baby girl.

Wait, wait, there's a name that keeps coming up in the old hospital records.

John Folkmore. He was an officer who responded to a majority of the calls from the Holden residence.

Johnny. He retired a few years back, but he still lives in town.

You think he might know what happened to the kid?

It'd be good to talk to him.

[Door slams]

You didn't do it right.

I shouldn't have to do this.

What are you talking about?

You know what I'm talking about.

I don't. Just let me go.

I promise I won't tell any--

Why are you holding back?

I did what you wanted.

No, you didn't!

[Sobbing]

[Grunting]

Do you think I want to do this?

Then don't.

Please, just let me go.

I can't.

Why won't you do what I ask?!

I have.

No! It's not right!

It's not the way it was!

Do it the way I said!

It has to happen the way I explained it to you!

Do it the right way!

Do it!

Do you remember that little guy?

Peter Holden.

Never forgot that face.

Back in the day you responded to a number of domestic abuse calls at the Holden residence.

At least once a week.

You knew how violent Frank Holden was and you never arrested him.

Why?

Karen covered for him.

She wrote the book on excuses.

If she wasn't telling me she fell down stairs, she was bumping into cabinets.

You don't know how many times I wanted her to come forward.

Part of me blames myself for what happened that night.

Will you tell me about Peter?

He was a good kid.

He loved baseball.

He didn't deserve to grow up in a house like that.

Kate: When was the last time you saw him?

A few nights before.

I stopped by the house to drop off a gift.

I bought him a cassette recorder.

That's an odd gift to give a 7-year-old, don't you think?

It wasn't a gift, was it?

You wanted him to capture his mother's abuse.

I--I don't know what I was thinking.

I was so frustrated with that whole situation.

I made a promise to the kid, if he could get me the recording...

I could finally put that son of a bitch in jail.

You were the only positive male role model he ever had.

Someone had to be.

[Indistinct chatter]

I think Peter changed his last name to Folkmore.

The officer's last name?

Yeah. Think about it. Whenever Peter and his mother were in trouble, who did they call?

Folkmore. He became a surrogate father.

[Crash]

Frank: You are pathetic!

I cannot take this anymore!

I am so sick of you!

The house is a mess!

You are a mess!

[Dish smashes]

When I come home, I want to be treated with some respect.

[Indistinct]

I can't even stand to look at your face anymore!

How the hell do you think it makes me feel, huh?

I said I'm sorry.

I bust my butt at work all day and all I ask for is a hot meal.

Honey, I know this is my fault.

You think I want to do this?

[Record playing]

I know you had a rough day at work.

So why do you have to make it worse?

I'll do better. I promise.

I am tired of giving you second chances.

Stop! Frank, please, put the Kn*fe down.

He can hear. He's in the other room.

Stop! No, Frank--

♪ you have the whole world wrapped up in your hand ♪

Mommy!

♪ One little hand ♪

Mom?

♪ my great big ♪
♪ bundle of love ♪
♪ and you're gonna see ♪

Dad?

No!

[g*nsh*t]

[Record scratches, repeats]

♪ little man--little man-- little man... ♪

According to child services, Peter was in and out of foster homes.

Says he carried a tape recorder with him wherever he went.

In his statement of the night when his parents d*ed, he said they were arguing.

Maybe he recorded it.

John never mentioned Peter giving him a tape.

Maybe Folkmore didn't know. Karen d*ed before Peter cold give him the tape.

You think he would hold on to it for all those years?

Well, it's possible.

The tape would have been his last memory of his mother, so he kept it for himself.

Something must have happened to the original recording.

[Cell phone rings]

There's our trigger.

He's not going to stop until he replaces what he lost.

Hey, sweetness, give it to me good.

I will. Peter Folkmore has only existed in the system for the last 16 years.

He works at the Angel Network for Women for the last 8 years.

Working there allowed him to do for other women what he couldn't do for his mother.

Karen wasn't the only one making distress calls.

A month ago, Peter called the fire department regarding a small fire in his basement.

According to insurance claims, he lost a slew of, quote, "priceless belongings."

Reid: That's right before the murders started.

Kate: Do you have an address?

Work and home already sent to you.

JJ and I will take the house.

We'll grab the others and go to the shelter.

Oh!

Where are you, Greta?

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

The sooner we get this right, the sooner we can end this.

♪ I've got a big, big bundle of love ♪

Getting warmer?

♪ And I have saved it all for you ♪

[Song continues]

♪ Honey, that your lovin' is true ♪
♪ you have the whole world wrapped up in your hands... ♪

[Screaming]

No! No! No!

Yeah, you. You.

Uhh!

Unh!

♪ You don't know how much I love you ♪

I really wish you hadn't done that.

[Crying out]

[Sirens]

You ruined it. We were getting somewhere.

We can try again.

Just please don't do this!

No! Unh!

[Tires screech]

[Siren]

Help! Help!

Come on!

Uhh!

Scream for me.

[g*nsh*t]

[Bat clatters on floor]

You wish.

We need a medic down here ASAP.

Greta.

Greta, are you ok?

Conner?

He's ok. He's safe. He's safe. I promise.

You're gonna be ok. An ambulance is on the way.

Peter: Scream for me.

[g*nsh*t]

[Bat clatters]

Hotch: "Nothing can drive one closer to his own insanity than a haunting memory refusing its own death."

Darnella Ford.

How's the head?

Oh, I'll survive.

What about you?

I know that look.

Face of a worried mom. What's going on?

[Sighs]

Meg is going on her first date tonight.

Really?

At 13?

It's not really-- it's not really a date.

It's with boys.

But when I was 13 and I went to the mall to meet boys, it was a date.

Yeah. Times are a-changin', my friend.

I just keep reminding myself, it is just the mall.

I don't think parents are ever ready for their kids to grow up.

It feels like yesterday she was in diapers.

Teenagers. I don't know how my mom survived.

Ooh. Mine either.

Well, right now Henry still thinks girls have cooties. So...

He won't feel that way a few years from now, so treasure it.

Don't you wish you could just... keep them innocent forever?

Yeah.

Relax. We're early.

As long as we make it back before curfew, we're good.

Otherwise there'll be hell to pay for.

What did you tell your folks?

The truth. Sort of.

I told them we were meeting two guys in our biology class.

This is the best study session I've ever had.

They actually believed you?

Why wouldn't they. I couldn't tell them we were meeting some cute senior we met online. They'd freak.

Where is that cute guy?

Speaking of freaking...

Hey, girls.

What are you doing here?

You were supposed to just drop us off, not follow us in.

It's a mall. Valentine's Day.

I'm buying Kate a gift.

Ooh, what'd you get her?

Oh, uh, just gloves.

In a pink bag? Those are not gloves.

So, uh, what's up with these boys from your class?

They're running late.

Ahh.

Ok, well, don't miss your curfew.

I won't. don't you trust me?

Yeah, I trust you. It's the boys I don't trust.

Ok. Well, I'm gonna leave you guys to it.

Uh, just remember, boys that run late are not worth waiting for.

Bye. Bye, Chris.

Bye, Mr. Callahan.

Bye, you guys.

I can't believe it. Your Uncle's a total stalker.

Right? I don't know why he can't just accept that I'm not a little girl anymore. Jeez.

Hey, sweetie, it's me.

I, uh--look, I just want to clear the air and let you know that I'm really sorry.

We definitely should have discussed Meg dating before I gave the approval for her to do that. And...

But if it's any consolation, I'm at the mall right now, and I'm planning on sticking around to keep an eye on them.

But, uh, they're doing great.

Except for the fact they may have just been stood up for the first time.

But...[Laughs]

I, uh, I love you, and I do feel bad.

So bad, as a matter of fact, that I bought you something amazing.

It's like, red, and it's got black stripes, and a strap.

It's gonna look so hot on you.

Uh, I'll show you when you get home, ok?

Where are they?

I don't know.

Sorry.

Oh, they're not coming.

What? Why not?

I don't want to talk about it.